State Debt Growth Slowest in Decades as Slump Woes Linger
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State governments in the U.S. added to their collective debt burden in 2012 at the slowest pace in at least two decades, even with interest rates near historic lows, showing many were still coping with fiscal fallout from the recession that ended almost four years ago.
Total net tax-supported state debt rose 1.3 percent in 2012, compared with a 7 percent 10-year average, Moody’s Investors Service said yesterday in a report. The amount climbed to $516 billion from $510 billion in 2011, and the growth rate will increase slightly this year, the company said.